President Barack Obama's poll numbers crashed to new lows ahead of his crucial
speech on Thursday aimed at tackling US job growth and reviving his own
political fortunes.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll put Mr Obama's overall approval rating at just 44 per cent, with only 37 per cent of those asked satisfied with his management of the economy.

In a sign some voters have already written him off, 54 per cent believed that Mr Obama faced a long-term setback from which he was unlikely to recover.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll put Mr Obama's disapproval rating at 53 per cent, and 77 per cent said the country was on the wrong track. A third said Mr Obama's economic policies had done more harm than good.

A Politico/George Washington University battleground poll meanwhile found 72 per cent of voters thought the country was heading strongly or somewhat in the wrong direction in a blunt warning sign for incumbent politicians.

The miserable polling data followed a grim August for Mr Obama in which Standard and Poor's downgraded Washington's top debt rating and the economy created no net jobs at a time of crushing 9.1 per cent unemployment.

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It also underscored the importance of Mr Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress on Thursday, designed to lay out a new jobs plan, which may be his last chance to reboot the economy before election season begins in earnest.

But White House spokesman Jay Carney said depressed poll ratings did not come up in his meetings with the president, who he said was fixated on reviving the economy.

Mr Carney also said Mr Obama's speech would include some "new ideas" but cautioned that there was "a limited universe of things that can be done" to create jobs.

Tuesday's polls suggested that Republicans, as well as Obama, face a volatile electorate.

In the Wall Street Journal/NBC survey, 82 per cent of voters disapproved of Congress - half of which is controlled by Republicans.

Mr Obama narrowly outpolled the most likely Republican presidential nominees, Mr Romney by 46 to 45 per cent and Texas Governor Rick Perry by 47 to 42 per cent.

In one ray of light for Obama, the NBC poll also found that though many are souring on his policies and the competence of his administration, 70 percent of voters still found their president likable.

On Thursday, Obama will try to turn the page with his televised speech, and has warned he will accuse Republicans of putting party before country if they block his economic plans.